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Problem importing into "Photos" from pictures taken on a Windows device

I'm trying to do a bulk import of pictures taken on the Windows phone I used prior to getting an iPhone.

The "Photos" program on my MacBook Air (running Catalina) seems to "see" all the files, but will only import about 5% of the photos on the chip from the phone which is being read on an Apple brand chip reader. During the "Import" process, all the file names are displayed properly. They are all JPEGs with numerical IDs and a "WP_" prefix and either a ".jpg" or _Pro.jpg" suffix

All the pictures I've tested display normally in Preview.

Here's the really weird part: when I search for a specific photo (that Photos previously did not import) on the chip, Photos will display the file name in grey (not black) typeface (as if it is incompatible) but it will successfully import that single photo.

My first thought was that there was some incompatibility between the chip and my MacBook, so I tried the process on an older MacBook Pro (running High Sierra.) Same results. Next, I tried copying the pictures to the hard drive and then attempting a Photos import from the folder on the hand drive. Same results.

I thought a JPEG was a JPEG was a JPEG regardless of how in was created or where it was being read.

Any suggestions on what this partial incompatibility is all about?

Any suggested solutions?

MacBook Air

Posted on Sep 3, 2020 5:35 PM

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Posted on Sep 3, 2020 5:52 PM

JPEGs are JPEGs unless they're JPEG-2000 but that's unlikely.


How are you initiating the import process? File > Import… or just dragging them into the library window?


What happens if you locate one of those problematic photos in the folder on your hard drive that you used to duplicate the card contents and just drag that one photo into the Photos window?

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 3, 2020 5:52 PM in response to BRuke1

JPEGs are JPEGs unless they're JPEG-2000 but that's unlikely.


How are you initiating the import process? File > Import… or just dragging them into the library window?


What happens if you locate one of those problematic photos in the folder on your hard drive that you used to duplicate the card contents and just drag that one photo into the Photos window?

Sep 3, 2020 8:07 PM in response to PhillipU

Thanks for your advice.

I'm using File > Import. It's very confusing that Photos doesn't "see" most of the files.

Dragging an "unseen" file into Photos works as does File > Import one at a time. Unfortunately, there are thousands of picture files involved and it would be really great if there's a wholesale solution.

Problem importing into "Photos" from pictures taken on a Windows device

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